~ Where we talk about bustin up our sod in our lives and on our land.

Category Archives: Family Life

Do you recall in certain movies watched how someone will be so tired that they fall asleep in their food at the dinner table? That would perfectly describe me and my life right about now.

We are finishing up the school year, I am one super proud mama of all the hard work my children have put into their education. It is not enough for me to have them know the right answers but to actually have learned the curriculum. My 7-year old daughter this past month started making and trying to sell these little paper clips with decor on them, my 6-year-old son asked her why she was so intent on earning money and her quick response was, “I want to go to college.” Now, the fact that she wanted to go to college did not prick the heart as much as the fact that she was trying to work hard and save now for it. It was that moment of knowing that all my worries about teaching them finances and how to be honest and work hard are not so much in my hands, but in God shaping their little hearts. He gave me the manual, I am giving her (and the rest of them) the tools, it is up to them to create something. I am so glad she is realizing this now.

On that note, because I get asked this a lot, in terms of finances, this is how we have decided to deal with money when it comes to our children. They do not get an allowance. They can work for money. My daughter has made blankets to sell. My son is about to do yard work. My husband and I don’t really have a lot they can do but when they have shown a great decision on something we tell them how proud we are and use the Bible verse that says “the labor is worthy of his/her rewards” (Found in the book of Timothy.) and we will present them with a dollar or two. We do not consistently do this because part of being responsible is doing something without expecting pay but we do encourage them in this way. For example, last week my son surprised me by not just clearing the meal dishes from the table but also rinsing and then washing them and sweeping the kitchen floor without me saying a single word about it. I gave him a dollar. My daughter decided the car really needed to be cleaned out and she picked up all the trash in it and put the toys away. She also earned a $1.

We then say that whatever they earn, they get to keep 1/2 and the other half will go into their piggy bank. Now we are stepping it up with 10% tithe first, 1/2 piggy bank and 1/2 for them to spend. The goal is to get into the habit of learning to live on less than you make, learning to save, and having a nice nest egg when you are ready for college, your first home, car, whatever.

It is not always an easy lesson. I mean, how well do we adults follow our own advice?

For more family resources on teaching children finances, I highly recommend Dave Ramesy and Rachel Cruze’s book- Smart Money Smart Kids (you can find my book review on this here.)

Well, Friday’s post didn’t happen due to a yard sale we had. Sodbustin’ Saturday didn’t happen because we had family in town and possible downpour (we didn’t get any). So, here we are today.

I love a clean and orderly kept home. I mean, who doesn’t? The process to get there is long and daunting, not to mention completely overwhelming. I would start out by deciding to go through each room in the house and clean it from top to bottom with a fresh start, only to see the massive elephant before me and scour away to to my organizational self-help books. That is always the hardest part is it not? The doing vs The Knowledge. This past couple weeks, I had this crazy idea. I had heard it before, my mom threatens talks about doing this but I actually tried to come up with a more realistic way of doing this. Even now, I’m hesitant to post this, in case I set myself up for failure. I started going through the house with a view point of packing everything up and moving across the country within six months. What would I take? Do I need this between now and then? If I get rid of this, will I have to replace it before we actually move? Is there other item similar to this that can serve as a dual purpose? And there began my journey to downsize so much that I just needed and upkeep routine.

I have talked before about the whole “Fly Lady” system I do. After we had gotten rid of so much stuff and even in the process of getting rid of a lot of stuff, I noticed a change in everything. And it wasn’t just me that noticed, my husband (a natural cleanie!) began to drop comments like, “Wow. You did a lot today.” “This house looks really nice, Challice.” “I feel good about coming home.” Interestingly enough, I really hadn’t done a whole lot more in the realm of cleaning… I got rid of a lot which made finding homes for everything else much more manageable. I would love to say I had a more peaceful heart during this time, but the ugly truth is, I was Cruella DeVille at her finest! I saw a shoe left out and you would have thought the world ended. The clothes I took time to neatly fold in a manner worthy of the queen were shoved into drawers and that made me want to pull my hair out. Would it ever work out perfectly?

The real test came this weekend and today. We decided to have the mother’s over for Mother’s day for a light meal and conversation. Normally I am frantically trying to hide all the mess and clutter I have in piles everywhere but this weekend, my frantic-ness was in trying to prepare all the food within a couple of hours. Today, I woke up and realized that I didn’t have the Monday Blues when it came to mentally preparing my cleaning list for today. I have my zone schedule set up and I’ll be working along my Fly Lady routine to keep the house in tip top shape.

I feel like I have arrived at that place where I am not going to freak out if someone shows up unexpectedly for a visit. My home is not perfect. It will never be in a Magazine. But it is clean and that has been my goal for years now.

I have got it this way, now, can I keep it this way? Stay tuned! I betcha I do!

Ok, so I’ve shown you the planners I use, now I want to go into a little more detail about them. Today I will show you more of my Erin Condren and how I make that work.

I get asked a lot about my Erin Condren Life Planner. It’s full of washi and stickers and everyone just loves to see it. Ever since I was little I was always drawn to crafts, stickers, fun, journaling (While I don’t have ALL my journals from childhood, I still remember each on in my heart and I have from age 13 on up) so something like this that is practical and yet still fun is perfect for me.

The biggest challenge I have with it, is being smart about it. It is VERY easy to overspend on stickers and all the do-dads to make it more fun and cute and whatnot but finding that balance between having something you love and using something functionally is a challenge. I have weeks where I am so busy and so much writing that I am actually dizzy by what I see (which is why I added the Fauxdori) but the stickers that are just a simple reminder with the décor stickers help break things up help keep things simple, clean and enjoyable. This is why the Erin Condren planner works so well for me. I actually want to look at it. Erin Condren has made a planner that is so easily adaptable so I thought I’d go into a bit more detail and show you how and why..

First you have the month at a glance I use this to record what would be written on our main calendar—the one I can’t see because it’s hung up by the ceiling. So this is something I can quickly reference, write down appointments and birthday’s, play dates, bills, etc etc etc. I minimally decorate for this. I didn’t utilize this well in last year’s planner, but this year I’ve found a system that works. I love it.

Then we have the week by week broken up into 3 categories, Morning, Day and Night. I actually use this thin washi and cover that up. I break it out into “To-Do”, “Reminders”, and “Personal/School (college stuff)”. How simple is that to repurpose it! On the left-hand side you have this section to write out “weekly goals and such”. I have seen this repurposed for so many things, menus, daily routine check boxes, errands, inspiration, some people just just decorate with washi everywhere. I actually recently got a couple stickers that I use here and they are; “To Buy” and “Errands” and then I can write what needs to be done. I also use my Mason Jar Water intake sticker here. I am trying to be very good about drinking enough water daily. I have these tiny stickers I got at the Dollar Tree that I use OR I’ll just use color coded pens to make little drops to mark how much I have drunk. While this is a rarely empty, I am still trying to get the hang of using this in the best functional way.

Along the bottom you have it broken up with four lines and above that Erin Condren wrote; Meal plans, exercise, daily to-dos” just to give you some inspiration on what to use it for. A LOT of people use this to put their dinner meals on and track their fit-bit steps. I actually use this for my Fly-Lady zone schedule and my Bible in a Year schedule.

In so far as decorating and stickers and washi and whatnot, I am on a facebook group that actually has a poll where everyone puts their idea for the theme for one week. The top 4 or 5 with the most votes are the themes we use. I use those to kind of decorate. It’s fun, you learn to go outside what you would normally do. This week is Pixar week (actually, that was one of my suggestions so it’s fun that it actually ended up that way) I wanted to do Finding Nemo which is my favorite Pixar film.

So, quick tip, the cheapest Nemo stickers I found were $4 and they were bubble kind. A) I am not paying $4 and b) bubble kind make my planner thicker than I like. So I found fishes for only $1 and just played around with that and used other stickers that I got in a RAK (oh, yeah, see note for this) which have cute lil sayings like “Don’t forget” “Note to self- Don’t forget note to self” etc. And I thought this was a great Dory reference. I had some waves and anchor washi that was also RAK’d to me that I use along the bottom. So, despite appearances, I try hard not to over decorate. I need room for this to function too. I wrote in the reminders and appointments I have for the week.

One way I function is writing stuff in post-its before the week has arrived and then when it is the current week I can adjust my stickies and reminders as needed to make this work best for my schedules.

I kind of shot down the idea about writing the weather along the top because it just seemed silly to write weather down. However, I recently read another reason people do it. One mom uses it to know how to dress her children and plan outside, and THAT made sense. So on Sundays I just do the first three days and then on Wednesday I will do Thursday-Sunday.

Another section in the Erin Condren Life Planner is their “Notes” section. This right here is why I LOVE this planner. I used to have spiral notebooks everywhere with scattered and random notes of things I was trying to keep track of and here in the Erin Condren I can have everything in ONE place and it’s easy to keep track of everything and not lose it.

So back in the note section I have, My Bible in a Year list, New Year Goals and then that is broken down into 3 tasks for each month, I have my Birthday list and gift section, My 52 week money challenge section, My Fly Lady Zone master list, My clothing budget and need list- this has the amount each of us has written down with enough space to write down what we need and what we pay for it. I can keep track for our expense and if I am out and about I can see what we need and its really nice. Another page has my babysitting hours for different clients. It helps keep track of what is due, what is credited and how much I have made in a month’s period. If I get checks, I can write down check number information and it is all located in one place. I have a list for books I want to read, review and blog about. I have a financial section to help keep track of our monthly budget. I have a “blog idea” page. (I can check this one off!) I have a page for all the chapter books I am reading to the children. I try to write a start and finish date as well but since there is only one book written down so far for the new year, we’ll see how that goes. I have a list of books I want to read. I have a Christmas list with ideas for my friends and family members. I have a page dedicated to keeping track of the amount we have saved to be able to move. Each month has its own line for the amount saved and then there is a master line for the goal I want to have at the end of the year. I also have a page of phone numbers to remember. And I haven’t even used all the notes section! So much more! I plan on getting another page set up to write down when I have planted what and what our planting goals are for spring and for fall

So, there you have it. My “Brain” all wrapped up into one amazing planner. This thing is so durable. I have thrown it into my diaper bag. Shamefully it has been left everywhere. I have had it fall out and even seen a planner where it landed on the asphalt of a parking lot and got run over and you know what? These things hold up amazingly! That is mom planner for you right there folks! I could go on and on about this planner. I will answer any questions you may have as well.

Right now, Erin Condren has their Life Planners discounted. Using my referral link and signing up for their newsletter will give you a $10 credit. Once you receive that, you should put it directly into your account right away. That way you don’t loose the email or forget to use it at check out. Now, they are discounting this year’s planners by 25% when you use the code listed on their site right below the product links. Please note; I have no idea how long this savings will last and it can change at any given time to Erin Condren’s discretion.

I found this a fabulous deal when I thought about it as less than $1 per week for some sanity and organization and you are going to get a much better deal than that!

Hope that helps for my Erin Condren Life Planner post… stay tuned for another blog post as my series continues.

***notes***
RAK= Random Act of Kindness. This is another Facebook group for Erin Condren users that randomly send stickers, pens, washi tape, etc. to other members. You request a name and you can send packages out and in a few weeks, you can hope to receive some as well. You can find their page here.

Organization: A blessing hidden in a curse. The thing about organizational systems is that it’s easy to create more than you can keep going. What is supposed to help you keep your life together can, if overcomplicated, become your nemesis and because of that I may have overloaded my organizational plate. I started off with a basic life planner and have slowly added in more—or tried to keep it slow and manageable. Needless to say, I’ve attempted to keep certain areas of my life separate in an attempt to stay focused and organized. My planners- My Erin Condren Life Planner– I use this for daily life tasks. By that I mean that I use it for things I must not forget. It is my calendar on the go that doubles as my life scrapbook. I use this for the daily reminders and such. It is my brain dump.Fauxdori- This is something new in my life. I started this in February. I use this for all my to-dos (detailed lists that wouldn’t fit in my Erin Condren) my menu, my reminders, my notes (things I want to do more on) and etc.My prayer journal– This is actually based off of a youtube video I found. I wanted to be more intentional in my prayer life but just having no system doesn’t work for me. I need to set up “rules” for myself and systems or I won’t do things. I used post-it tabs to mark the sections and the more I used this, the more I see which ones are being used and which I’ll have to change. I can just remove the post-it out and use it elsewhere. Wonderful invention those post-it stickies! I started this in January as part of my New Year Update You kind of thing (spin off of New Year Resolutions ;)) I recently found this on Amazon and LOVED it. I have a calendar on wall and I write events that affect the family on it for my husband and children but its hanging high so it’s more for my husband. I love that there was space on this to write out tasks, chores, reminders, for all to see and I loved that there was room for everyone to have their own section. I was thinking about using this as a family planner. Well, my AWESOME Mother got this for me! Showed up on my door one day and said, “Here. Enjoy.” So this will be our first week implementing this and I’ll update on that further on. Other things I have to keep up organized is; Week Menu’s (This month is my pantry/freezer challenge. I try to do this every quarter so that nothing goes bad or rancid.) Homeschool schedule Each Day activities and responsibilities for the children (who also have gotten into the whole planner thing) Daily Routine- family and personal So, every Sunday, I sit down and set up my different systems for the coming week. To be continued…

I have all this stuff “pinned” on the popular website- Pinterest and I keep pinning and the “do” vs “pin” ratio is so far off the charts it can’t even be measured. This week I wanted to try a few of those “pinned” recipes and crafts, I “pinned” and see if they were worth even savings. I am here to share these results with you.

I had to adjust these to make them GF friendly. I used 1 cup of rice flour and 1 cup of a all purpose gluten free mix. Left everything else the same. I wish I had remembered to add about 1 tsp of xanthan gum.

Verdict: They were all inhaled in a matter of minutes. I am super glad I found a resource to use up leftover quinoa. I will probably try to cut the chocolate chips out of it next time and maybe do some walnuts instead. You did NOT taste the quinoa at all. My husband could not grasp the fact that it was left over quinoa. He thought I had ground it up into powder or placed the seeds in it but just could not believe it was leftovers. Score 1 for mom!

The next Pinterest item done was an organizing tip. I found one online and my husband made it fit our current wood cabinet door. You supposedly can find these easily at the thrift stores but I had no luck. Note to self; figure out next project and start scouring for supplies!Pin found here:

Really loving this already! I also have another Pinterest idea in mind which is to replace this current idea with THIS one. (Click link for idea)

Since our door does not have any handles, it’ll be a fabulous dual purpose!

I watched him struggle. His tongue was curling up. His concentration so deep. I thought to interrupt him with an offer to help but something hindered me. I knew if I did, he would give up and not do it at all. My kid is funny that way.
Five years old and determined to keep in touch with his good friend that has recently moved away. Firemen buddies they were. He enthusiastically draws pictures of firetrucks, firemen, Doctor Who, and his pal. Today looked different. He was actually writing words underneath the picture he drew. Rarely does he do that. He did not ask me how to spell anything. The perfectionist in me yearned to make sure it was done right. Sometimes, its a good thing to make sure it is. Not this time.
He finished and proudly showed me. I could read it. It may not all have been spelled correctly but I knew what he was writing about. My heart was so glad.

You see, about a year ago, I worried a lot over Stephen. He showed no interest at all. He was turning 5 and I thought it would be important to learn the alphabet sounds and start the foundation for reading and spelling. He was downright adamant on not learning. He was already a perfectionist. If he didn’t get it right the first time, whether it was writing the alphabet letters, saying the alphabet sounds or whatever, then he absolutely had no interest and “gave up”. I was terrified. Would I have a kid that wouldn’t learn? My daughter was ready to do all this stuff and he was so quick to give up! What would I do when I really had to buckle down on his education?

But then, I watched him. As I took in my younger sister to help my mom out, we all learned to read. Sister did, Euphemia did and when Stephen felt like it, he was encouraged to join.

I had first enlisted the help of my dear mother-in-law who was a teacher for over 2 decades and I used the same manner and skills she did. I think it worked well for her but I just felt very frustrated. It really seemed as though we never moved forward. When my sister came into the picture, she brought with her, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I think having such a small amount of doing and learning to do at a time, really helped. Things just went smoothly from there. Stephen grew in leaps in bounds… in so far as education is concerned.

So, I encourage you mothers out there that struggle with feeling that you are adequately doing the job of teaching your children.
I couldn’t help but this as I watched Stephen this evening, of that section in Corinthians 1:“27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise,… 29 so that no man may boast before God… 31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

As Dori says, “Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.”

You never know- our children just may surprise us with how much they really are paying attention.